National Rangeland Inventory, Monitoring, and Evaluation Report
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20240-0036
http://www.blm.gov
September 23, 2015
In Reply Refer To:
4100, 4180, 4400, 6500, 6600, 7100, 7200 (220) P
EMS TRANSMISSION 09/28/2015
Instruction Memorandum No. 2015-149
Expires: 09/30/2018
To: All State Directors (except Eastern States)
From: Assistant Director, Resources & Planning
Subject: National Rangeland Inventory, Monitoring, and Evaluation Report
DD: 01/08/2016
Program Areas: Rangeland Management; Standards and Guidelines for Grazing Administration; Rangeland Inventory, Monitoring, and Evaluation (RIME); Wildlife Management; Fish, Wildlife, and Special Status Plant Resources Inventory and Monitoring; Soil Resource Management; and Water Resources.
Purpose: The Washington Office Division of Forest, Rangeland, Riparian, and Plant Conservation (WO-220) is collecting information for the Fiscal Year (FY) 2015 RIME Report.
Policy/Action: The RIME report is to be completed in accordance with policy contained in the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Handbook H-4400-1 (Release 4-98 and 4-100), the BLM Manual Handbook 4180-1 (Release 1-107, dated January 19, 2001).
The RIME report contains seven tables. However, the field office (FO) and state office (SO) will only need to supply data for five of the tables (Tables 1, 2, 3, 5, and 7). For part of Table 1, Ecological Site Inventory, data relative to acres inventoried this FY will be collected from the Management Information System (MIS). Therefore, it is imperative that the SO input this data into the MIS in a timely manner. For Table 2A, Rangeland Inventories, the total acres available to be inventoried and the ephemeral acres will be obtained from the Rangeland Administration System (RAS). Table 3 contains data on monitored rangeland trend. Table 5 contains information on allotment monitoring. Tables 4 and 6 will be obtained from the RAS. Table 7 contains data on achievements and non-achievements of the BLM’s Fundamentals of Land Health. In summary, the FO and SO will only need to submit data for some of Table 1, most of Table 2A, and the entirety of Tables 2B, 3, 5, and 7.
To assist in compiling the FY 2015 RIME report, RIME Report Tables for FO and SO use are attached to this Instruction Memorandum. State Rangeland Management Program leads or State Inventory and Monitoring leads will need to consolidate the FO data into the RIME Report Tables in Attachment 1 and email the completed RIME Report Tables to Mike “Sherm” Karl at mkarl@blm.gov.
Timeframe: This Instruction Memorandum (IM) is effective immediately. The due date for state submissions is January 8, 2016.
Budget Impact: There is an increased workload associated with implementing the reporting of the Fundamentals of Land Health, compared with reports compiled prior to FY 2013. This increased workload must be accommodated within existing budgets at the field, district, and state office levels.
Background: State directors are responsible for providing annual reports for rangeland inventory, range condition and trend, and monitoring. The required information is used for reporting range condition in Public Land Statistics, reporting Department of the Interior Performance Measures, responding to public inquiries, satisfying requirements of the Public Rangelands Improvement Act to maintain a current inventory of range condition and trend, and analyzing and identifying monitoring workloads. The RIME report provides these reports and information needs.
The current format of the RIME report reflects changes made to Table 7 to accommodate the new reporting of Fundamentals of Land Health.
Manual/Handbook Sections Affected: The BLM Handbook H-4400-1 (Release 4-98 and 4-100), the BLM Manual Handbook 4180-1 (Release 1-107, dated January 19, 2001).
Coordination: Preparation of this IM was coordinated with State Rangeland Management Program Leads and State Inventory and Monitoring Leads.
Contact: If you have any questions regarding this IM, please contact Mike “Sherm” Karl, Inventory and Monitoring Specialist, Division of Resource Services, National Operations Center, at 303-236-0166, or Richard Mayberry, Rangeland Management Specialist, Division of Forest, Rangeland, Riparian, and Plant Conservation, WO-220, at 202-912-7229.
Signed by: Authenticated by:
Michael H. Tupper Robert M. Williams
Acting, Assistant Director Division of IRM Governance,WO-860
Resources and Planning
1 Attachment